Tales of the 84th Nome
by AccountPlease
Summary: Join Lucia Romano as she embarks on an impossible quest to defeat a Greco-Egyptian abomination that threatens the world once again!
1. Chapter 1

Lucia stood out on the balcony of the Pittsburgh House, the 84th Nome of the House of Life. The balcony was on the 4th floor, the highest floor and the location of her room; the Sem Priest's Master Bedroom. She stared up at the clear blue morning sky, a soft wind blew past her, she felt connected to the sky. Well, in a way, she was. Lucia followed the path of the sky goddess, Nut. Nut had guided her when she ran away from home, all the way to Cairo when she was thirteen, she then found out that the timing wasn't a coincidence; as the rules state mages must begin training at the age of thirteen.

Lucia was muscular and tall, but not disproportionate. Her physique was due to her special training at the First Nome. Aside from that, her skin is smooth and clear, except for the occasional blemish. Her dark complexion matches well with light colors, especially the white of her eyes, it blends smoothly with her light golden brown skin tone. Her raven black hair was freshly washed and curly, her bangs pulled back held by a clip, but her hair still fell down her back and over her shoulders.

At the First Nome she had been trained in her newly discovered abilities, and upon discovery of her adept affinity for magic, delved deeper and deeper into training. Her special training had been drilled into her, no matter what would happen to her, she'd still remember it all like the back of her hand. She nodded a silent thanks to the sky, before turning and heading inside. She made her way downstairs to the second floor, where the others had gathered in the dining hall. There was chatter and laughter, but as she descended down the stairs, Ethan, Lucia's second in command, stood. "Attention!" He shouted and the others stopped what they were doing and stood, facing Lucia. She stayed silent as she walked through the room, to her table where her inner circle stood. Ethan bowed to her and the others followed his example. When she sat down, everything popped off like a corkscrew in a shaken bottle of wine.

Everyone resumed chatter, but this time, familiars that served the 84th Nome burst through the kitchen doors and served breakfast. "Good morning, madam." Ethan said, "Sleep well?" Lucia nodded. "The skylight helps." She gave Ethan a thankful smile. Around a month ago, she suddenly began having trouble sleeping, only being able to sleep on the balcony, where she felt closest to the sky; resulting in her getting sick. When Lucia recovered, Ethan pretended to have discovered a powerful artifact, and sent her on a wild goose chase, while he used the Nomes funds to install a skylight above her bed. She wasn't pleased at first, complaining that the funds could have been used for the Nome, or in an emergency. But, for the first time in her life, she had been at a loss for words when he said _You_ are _the 84th Nome, without you at your best, we aren't at one hundred percent._ She let him off with a warning, but his words sunk deep into her. And when she slept like a baby that night, she couldn't help but be thankful.

When everyone had finished, Ethan, stood and called for attention, as Lucia stood and turned to address the Nome as she did every day. "Fortunately, no news to report today, no incident reports, and everyone accounted for. Please, continue to do your best." The room rang as everyone answered in unison, "Yes, madam!" Before hurrying off to their business. "Madam," called Ethan, he had a serious look on his face, so did Helen and Celo, the other heads of the Nome. The ranking order went: Lucia, Sem Priest, Ethan, his rank isn't official, but if she had to chose, it would be equivalent of the Chief Lector (Ensuring Lucia's orders are carried out and everything is running smooth), Helen, the Scribe, and Celo, Keeper. Celo was a skinny Japanese-American, who was fit and flexible, he wore a coal black suit with a red tie and black dress pants. He treated his work very seriously and always wore suits when outside of his room. Helen had dark red, almost brown, hair, with large black eyes and clear light skin. She wore a white linen blouse with tight black pants.

Keeper is not a rank you'd see in other Nomes, but the rank is very important in the 84th Nome, because it contains The Vault. The Vault is the most secure vault of magical artifacts in the western world, only second to the First Nome. Celo is responsible for keeping The Vault in top condition. "What is it?" Asked Lucia. Helen reached into her robe and pulled out a parchment scroll with a red ribbon tied around the middle, with a Eye of Horus pin. The pin marked the official symbol of the Pharaoh, Carter Kane. "When did this come in?" Lucia asked. "Not sure, but some time last night." Lucia took the scroll from Helen. "Well, what did it say?"

Instead of reading it herself, Lucia asked Helen, because a new messaging system had been set in place by Carter to prevent interception of communication. Scribes are responsible for deciphering the coded messages sent between Nomes, only Scribes are trained with the deciphering code. Lucia probably wouldn't be able to understand a word. "Carter and Sadie Kane are coming to the 84th Nome, to personally _view_ a very specific artifact said to be stored in The Vault." Lucia stared at the Eye of Horus. "Which artifact?" Lucia memorized each artifact they had in possession. "The Soul Harvesters Staff." Lucia was taken aback, "That one? Why that one in particular? It's not incredibly powerful, It's powers are mediocre compared to most others. So.. why _that_ staff?" She looked towards Celo, who shrugged. "I'm under the same impression you are, Madam. The staff, from the archives, is one of the Nomes oldest artifacts, found long before we moved in. Not much information is listed about the staff itself, but a lot of information was present on its owner. The Soul Harvester.

Apparently he was a Magician back in ancient Egypt who followed the path of Anubis, but became obsessed with the soul and death, sought to harvest enough souls to become a full immortal. A lot of details about their battles with him and chasing him all over North America before finally cornering him in San Francisco. When the Soul Harvester died, his body exploded, resulting in a large magical shockwave causing the 1906 earthquake. All that was left of him was…" His voice trailed off, "His staff." Lucia finished. "This doesn't answer what about that staff captured the attention of _the_ Carter Kane, our Pharaoh." Helen shifted her weight to her other hip, "I agree, this is so out of the blue. Could something have happened? Or do they know something that we don't?" Lucia didn't have an answer. "When are they going to be here?" Helen pursed her lips, "Apparently, the moment you press the center of the Eye."

Lucia ran her thumb over the Eye. "We'll call them later, for now, return to your positions. We'll summon them for dinner, treat them, then take them to The Vault. Helen, do you think you could…" Helen rose an eyebrow, but when she realized what Lucia was asking, she shook her head, fear apparent in her eyes. "N-No, I wouldn't want to bother him." She didn't say more, even though it was obvious she could. You see, only a select few Houses practice the Path of the Gods, since the Chief Lector, Amos Kane, has set a precedent against it; however Carter Kane allows selective participation. Lucia was trained through the Path of the Gods, so she would train initiatives under her the same way, by choice of course. Helen had been training under the Path of Thoth, and when Lucia was about to set out on Operation Firestarter - a disastrous and dangerous mission that resulted in the death of three Nome members - they sought Thoth's wisdom. When she channeled the power of Thoth, apparently a conversation had sparked between the two and he deemed her "unworthy" nearly killing her, writing the hieroglyph of "implosion" on Helen's forehead, before the spell could activate fully, Lucia disabled it. However, Helen had been injured and was bedridden for a few weeks. She has been too scared to even attempt to contact Thoth, let alone channel him.

Lucia wasn't going to force her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this visit; the sudden visit, the sudden interest in an artifact currently collecting dust in The Vault… They needed answers. Maybe those answers weren't theirs to know. "Very well." The color returned to her face. "Celo, search the Vault's records, look for any inconsistencies and information on the Soul Harvester. Ethan, go make sure the familiars have all they are going to need to cook a meal worthy of a Pharaoh. Helen, search the library for any information regarding the staff in particular. Report _immediately_ if you find anything. Dismissed." They nodded to her and split off, however Ethan remained. "What are you going to do, Lucia?" She looked Ethan in his eyes. "To shore up our defenses. Something doesn't seem right."


	2. Chapter 2

Lucia walked outside, the weather was fair, scattered clouds in the clear blue sky. It was slightly humid out, but the wind kept her cool. She walked out into the courtyard, she inspected the wall, which was the border of the property. The wall was a 10 foot tall red brick wall with black wrought iron bars lining the outside of the wall, with a low iron gate surrounding the wall itself, on both sides. The Pittsburgh House is a five story white manor, made of brick of marble. A large pool out back, a spell training field on the left side of the manor, and a combat training field on the right side of the manor. For being built in the early 1800's, it was surprisingly well thought out, in location, defenses, and future planning.

Along the wall are wards that power the larger wards on the ground, that power the large forcefield over and under the Pittsburgh House; the forcefield also casts a veil over mortal eyes, hiding magic and the inhabitants from the naked eye. Lucia took her time and carefully inspected the wards as she walked, when a pale girl with short curly blue hair, and startlingly sharp purple eyes ran up to Lucia. The girl was slightly shorter than her, but Lucia knew who she was. "Yuki, what's up?" Yuki is Celo's favorite _Shabti,_ one he modeled after the love of his life, Yuki, who had been killed in a car accident before he had discovered his magic. She handed Lucia a tablet, which showed Celo's face clearly. "Madam." He said, "Did you discover something?" Lucia asked and Celo's face turned serious. "Well, not exactly something tangible, but something odd. I was searching through all records regarding the staff, a search which revealed nothing we didn't already know, but it sparked me to go inspect it personally. The odd something I discovered is it's location, the center." Lucia rose an eyebrow, understanding why Celo brought this to her attention. "Why is it in the center? Isn't that where only the most dangerous or fragile relics go?"

Celo nodded. "My thoughts exactly, I'm at the center now," He paused and showed the Staff. It was golden and eight feet long, with arches surrounding a glowing red orb at the top. "It's not exactly fragile, I've inspected it with magic, nothing out of the ordinary, except for the exquisite golden material. No wear, no scratches, no signs of age. Whatever this metal is, it's not Egyptian. This only raises one question, what made the magicians of the 19 century, decide to to put it in the center, the most secure place in the entire Pittsburgh House?" Lucia was at a loss. "Go to Helen in the library and help her search for records around the time the Staff was brought in and for what metal the staff is made out of." Celo nodded. "Yes Madam." Lucia handed Yuki back the tablet and she bowed, before hurrying off.

Lucia was finishing her inspections, making a full round along the wall, when she heard and felt the clashing of magic. She crouched and crept towards the Magical Combat side of the House, she spotted a small circle of people watching a fight, two magicians flinging combat magic at each other. Lucia immediately understood what was going on. Two of the initiates, Kelvin and India, have been quarreling over a Relic the two helped bring in; each trying to claim the credit for themselves. Lucia shook her head, even though they were both credited and rewarded, they still insisted on fighting. This is the fourth fight in the last two months.

Lucia began walking towards them, the small crowd and the combatants too focused on the fight to notice her. She drew her daggers that she kept hidden - usually strapped to her mid-section - in her clothing at all times, drew two hieroglyphs for "STOP" in the air. Her daggers were made of a strange bronze material that Nut had helped her find, she discovered she can channel her magic through the metal and that monsters seemed to snarl at its sight and fear it's bite even more. The metal never scratched or cracked, no matter what torture she put it through. She wrote the first glyph with her right dagger, the one she used for combat magic, directed at the initiates fighting; and the second glyph with her left dagger, the one she used for more practical use, at the spectating crowd.

The clamor died down when they realized they could no longer move, she released them when the two combatants stopped channeling their magic. They all turned to face Lucia. "We apologize, Madam!" They knelt to her. "This marks the fourth unsanctioned fight, what do you have to say for yourself, Kelvin?" Kelvin was an african american kid, a shaved head, but he was thick with muscle and a little under six feet tall. He didn't say anything, but looked away, knowing he was in trouble. "What about you, India?" Before India could answer, Lucia felt a strain on the wards along the wall, more specifically, at the front gate, she snapped in the direction. "We'll continue this later. Go inside." They all seemed to understand, the tone of her voice was enough for them. They glanced at her, worried, before rushing inside. Lucia ran over to the gate, the large enchanted thick iron doors remained closed. A swift _knock knock knock_ sounded from the other side and flared the wards. She drew her daggers and kicked open the iron doors that swung open, revealing four teenage kids, the one who was knocking on the gate fell onto his ass, Lucia realized that they were mortals; fortunately, for she was a split second away from slicing the jugular of the kid who knocked on the gate. "What business do you four have?" The kid who had knocked on the door was slightly chubby, short messy brown hair, freckles and blue eyes, "I-I, um-" A boy stepped forward, he had long blonde hair, and blue eyes, wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. "Listen, we didn't know anyone actually lived here. We were just-" "A test of courage?" The boy nodded. "Come on," Said one of the other boys, a skinny pale kid with short dark brown hair with a white beater and baggy jeans. "We didn't mean no harm, those doors are way too thick for us to do any real damage-" The last kid, who wore jeans and a black hoodie, turned and yelled, "Run!" Before Lucia could get a good look at them. The others turned and ran, the chubby kid with the messy brown hair began to panic, "wait, guys! Don't leave me behind!" He turned back to look at Lucia. "U-um.. Am I in trouble?" Lucia sighed and tapped her foot twice on the stone pathway, the iron doors slowly closed. "What is your name?" She asked, extending her hand out to him. He took it and she hoisted him up, surprising him with her strength. "Kyle."

"Where those three your friends?" She asked, suspiciously, for it seemed they were picking on him. "Yeah." He said, but he crumbled under Lucia's fierce gaze. "..No… I want to be friends, but they only seem to make fun of me." Lucia nodded, she figured that was the case. "Why do you want to be their friend?" Kyle shook his head, "I don't want to be their friend, I… I only want to be Juniper's friend. The girl who yelled for them to run. I… I like her, but she doesn't even _see_ me. I figured if I become friends with her friends, I'd be able to get to know her better." Lucia sympathized with the poor boy, she longed for a romantic relationship too, however her duty came first. "Tell me about Juniper, why do you like her so much?" Kyle sighed, "well, she is just so beautiful. We used to be friends when we were little, actually my first friend, but any time I try to bring it up, she just says she doesn't remember me. It's weird, she never gives me a reason. But I know she's good on the inside, she is nice when you get to know her."

Lucia pondered for a second. "What made them have you knock on my gate?" He sighed. "I don't know. Your Manor is close to our school grounds, across the avenue then about five or more minutes of hiking through the forest and we're at the southern wall. Odd though, everyone says it's abandoned." Lucia sighed. "Keep it that way, we don't need anymore visitors. If you can, keep your classmates away from this Manor. It's best that way. However," Lucia took a deep breath. "I know this may sound empty coming from a complete stranger, but… Be confident and firm, don't let them push you around and know your boundaries and limits. If you don't push yourself, you'll never know what you're capable of." Lucia tapped her foot on the stone path twice again, and the large iron doors slowly opened, silently. She turned, but she was stopped by Kyle, who grabbed her hand. "You… You never gave your name." Lucia smiled, "Lucia. Take care Kyle, I hope things work out for you. And, for your sake, hope we never meet again." He let her go and she walked back through the doors as they slammed shut behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucia finished her inspection and returned to the Pittsburgh House. She found Kelvin and India waiting for her in the library with Celo and Helen. "Um, they came in, saying they were waiting for punishment?" Helen asked, looking up from a book. Lucia nodded, "Yes, when I was reviewing our wards, I discovered them fighting once again." Celo was on a ladder across from them, grabbing books from a high shelf, "I told you, Helen, I felt magic within the barrier." Helen rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We'll continue searching, Lucia, you… You know, do your thing." She returned to her book and Lucia looked towards Kelvin and India.

India was a light skinned Indian American girl, she wore robes with bright colors and exquisite fabric of Indian origin. Today she wore a bright red robe that folded at the waist and faded to yellow, then wrapped around her legs fading to green as it ended just below her knees. She had her black hair tied into a long pony tail. "What was the reason for the fight this time?" India sighed, "It was my fault," she had a slight accent, she had been raised at the First Nome before being sent to learn under Lucia. "I poked fun at him, a little too much, and he retorted. Tempers flared and… that was the result. I am sorry madam." Lucia sighed. "You two cannot keep fighting like this, you can seriously harm one another. You know this, so why consist on battling? Kelvin?" He shrugged, "I know madam, but… India just, gets me so riled up that the danger just slips my mind. But don't let her take all the blame, I threw insults back. I should have let it go, but.. I didn't." Lucia shook her head, "your morals are correct, but your behavior is the problem. I know exactly what will help you shape up. Helen, what would you suggest?"

Helen looked up from her book, "Hm?" She looked at Lucia then understood. She stood from her desk which was piled with books, then walked over to Kelvin and India. She looked over Kelvin, "Anubis." She then went onto to India, "Mafdet." She promptly walked back over to her desk and continued reading. Helen did learn one thing from Thoth before they had their falling out, a way to determine one's, most likely, Path. It helped on recon or stealth missions. "Starting tomorrow," Lucia continued, "you two will begin your new training. Anubis, god of the dead, for Kelvin, and Mafdet, goddess of justice." Their eyes widened, "Now, no more fighting. If you are frustrated, seek wisdom from your Path. Go." The two hurried off, the wooden doors swinging shut behind them.

Lucia walked over to Helen. "Anything?" Helen suddenly shook her head exasperated, "Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Lucia was taken aback, "It's okay, the staff has been elusive-" Helen stood so fast she knocked over her chair. "No! You don't understand! Literally _NO_ records on it, at _ALL_." Lucia's eyes narrowed, "Impossible, you've must have missed something." Helen picked up her chair and sat down before sighing. "I-I must have… A record or some kind of report exists for every other relic or artifact, but… I-I can't seem to find _anything_ about this one." Lucia pondered it, then her eyes widened. "What if… No." Lucia shook her head. "What is it?" Asked Helen. The Library was the central most room, which led to the Vault. The Library had two levels, each lined bookshelves and floating candles, a circular desk at the center that was open on both sides with an identical desk on the opposite side. Shabti ran around the place, shelving books that Helen had already read and handing her new ones.

Lucia hurried up the stairs to the Den, which was a room on the second floor of the library, just above the doors. A spell connected to the doors magically recorded everyone or anything that enters the Library, the spell is self sustaining and operates on it's own, not even Lucia could alter the spell. It serves double as the brain of the Nome, regulating and maintaining the wards and familiar and a closed-loop magic network.

She opened the door and a ghostly blue filled the air, a sphere sat at the center of the room; the origin of the glowing blue light. Rings of runes and hieroglyphs floated around it. Lucia walked up to it, rose her right hand, and said "Lucia Romano, Sem Priest of the 84th Nome." Helen rose her right hand too, "Helen, Scribe of the 84th Nome." Celo shut the door and rose his left hand as he walked over. "Celo, Keeper of the Vault of the 84th Nome." The ring of runes began to accelerate in their spinning, then extended around the room. Hieroglyphs and Ancient Egyptian runes floated all around the room. Lucia reached out and touched the correct Hieroglyphs and the visitor archive spread out before her in a floating, ghostly blue, illuminated, magic way. She waved her hand to scroll all the way down to the 1900's, but she paused at 1945, it was blank. "This is… World War II. They went away to fight in the war…" That left a bitter taste in Lucia's mouth, she kept scrolling. Names appeared between 1939 and 1918, then went blank again until before 1914. "...World War I." She continued scrolling until she reached 1900-1910. Her eyes widened, her worst fear had came true, "..B..Blank." Her heart filled with dread as she scrolled past it; blank. Everything from 1906 and back, was blank.

Helen was dumbfounded, "w-what does this mean? How is this possible?" Lucia clapped her hands and the glowing runes and hieroglyphs returned to their original orbit. Lucia turned and stormed out. Somehow, somebody or something, was able to manipulate the brain of the _entire_ Nome, something even Lucia can't do. "Celo, Helen, the Library is now on lockdown. The only ones allowed in and out, is me, Ethan, and you two. Understood?" They nodded, "Yes madam!"

Lucia found Ethan directing the familiars in preparation for dinner, she caught him returning with a bunch of bags. She watched as one of the larger familiars, an ogre named Nial, carried the bulk of the groceries; he did most of their heavy physical lifting. "Yes, madam?" He asked as she walked over. As she walked with him, she filled him in. "The archive… was erased? But that's-" "Impossible? I know." Ethan set down his bags and two harpy familiars took them, ripped them open and got back to cooking. "This isn't good. If someone out there knows a way to access the core spell of the archive… But didn't the records say all knowledge of it's creation was destroyed aside from the ones that created it?" Lucia nodded. "Supposedly." Ethan shook his head. "Lucia," he said, catching her off guard; but she knew he only said her name when he was serious.

Ethan was her friend before she had discovered magic, but she found him again when she had returned after training at the First Nome. Being reunited, her only friend from her childhood, she was happy to catch up. But, she was attacked three weird snake women, Lucia still haven't found their origin or what they were; but Ethan helped her kill them revealing that he could see them. When she discovered he could use magic, she helped him get to the First Nome and that was when she was granted Sem Priest status of the vacant 84th Nome in her hometown Pittsburgh. She requested for him to join her, Carter himself approved, and they've been side-by-side ever since.

"You can't even alter the archive spell, right?" Lucia nodded. "And when the spell was created, all records of its creation, all the research and time spent on it; destroyed, right?" Lucia nodded, "Except…" Her eyes widened. "Except for the ones who-" "Who made it." Ethan finished. "But that's impossible," she tried to say, "The Nome was built-" "decades ago? It's not uncommon for magicians to live several centuries, as a side effect to magic; even longer _with_ the assistance of magic. It's not impossible, Lucia." They were silent for several heartbeats, "Or, somehow, copies of the research survived and someone got a hold of them around 1906, and _really_ didn't want anyone else to know." Lucia's eyes narrowed. "There is just one thing that doesn't add up. Monsters and creatures were stronger and more prevalent back then, especially in the early 1900's. The magicians of that time were more numerous and more strict. They would have known the moment the Archive was sabotaged." Ethan paused. "Maybe they did know and…" Lucia's gut was filled with dread as she followed his thought trail. "And were _erased_."


	4. Chapter 4

Soon the dinner was ready to be served, the Nome gathered in the dining hall, which was decorated, worthy of a welcome dinner of the Pharaoh, and Sadie Kane, the only living magician to have summoned Ma'at. Lucia stood and the hall went silent. "As you all may be wondering, looking around at the room, what be the occasion for the current state of the dining hall; I must announce that the Pharaoh, Carter Kane himself and his sister, Sadie, are visiting our Nome!" Cheers erupted, she smiled at their excited glances around the room. "Supposedly, in their scroll, they are set to arrive when I press the center of the Eye of Horus seal." She took the scroll from Helen and held it up for the room to see, then with her thumb pressed the center of the eye. Silence. The room was confused and when Lucia began to doubt, a screech was heard outside. Lucia ran to the large window out-looking the gate, a griffin with a boat attached to it, flew around in the sky. It bumped into the forcefield, screeching. "I, Lucia Romano, give that griffin and it's passengers permission to enter the Nome!" She called and with a flash of light, they were allowed to pass through the barrier. "Stay here," Lucia called to Ethan and the others, "I will be back." She ran out of the hall and down the stairs and out the main door. The griffin, who surprised her with it's speed, landed in front of her and screeched, it's wings vibrating. Lucia noticed him first, Carter Kane. In the First Nome, she had learned combat magic under him when he visited. He wore a white linen t-shirt and black jeans, with long curly brown hair and tanned skin. A blonde girl stood next to him, air skin, deep blue eyes, a mischievous, lopsided smile, and a caramel brown hair with bright purple highlights, a thin black jacket with tattered jeans and combat boots, Sadie. Lucia knelt to them, "Welcome to my Nome, my pharaoh, legendary magician, Sadie." She heard their footsteps on the stone path as they hopped off of their boat. Lucia stood. "It's been awhile, Carter." He smiled and nodded, "I can see you're more confident now, you had completed your training and left when I returned." Lucia then turned her attention to Sadie, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sadie. Carter told me about you when I tutored under him." She smirked, "Oh really? And what did he say about me?" Carter's eyes widened, "wait-" Lucia smiled back, "Oh, something here and there about how even though you two quarrel, you're the greatest sister in the world and he should be thankful to have you." Sadie burst out in laughter and Carter glared at Lucia. "Oh Carter," Sadie said in between her convulsions, "you're too kind, too kind. Anyways," She stepped closer to Lucia as she wiped her eyes, "I don't like being recognized by someone I don't know, so, I am Sadie Kane," She extended her hand. Lucia shook it, surprised by Sadie's firm grip, "Lucia Romano, Sem Priest of the 84th Nome." Carter cleared his throat, "Now that that is over with, I assume you know why we are hear?" Sadie rolled her eyes, "Of course she does, she summoned us with the scroll, didn't she? It has clear instructions inside of it stating how to activate the Eye of Horus seal." Carter glared at her. "Anyways, am I correct?" Lucia nodded. "Of course, however, there has been… a complication. But, before we get into the nitty gritty details, I would like to welcome the Pharaoh and his legendary sister to the 84th Nome, with a grand dinner in your honor. Please, this way."

Lucia led them to the dining hall, where the others patiently waited. A small ruckus erupted as everyone turned to look towards them as they came up the elevator. Carter and Sadie followed behind Lucia. "Everyone, our special guests have arrived!" Cheers broke out and they surprised Lucia by giving them applause. Sadie whistled behind Lucia, "Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel welcome. I like you more and more." Lucia led them to the head table, away from the others. When Sadie and Carter were seated. "Now, Ethan, if you would." Ethan nodded and stood. He clapped his hands and the doors burst open with familiars carrying platters and pushing carts full of food.

After the food was served, talking rose up and everything seemed like a normal day at the 84th Nome. As they ate, Lucia spoke up, "Now, as I mentioned earlier, a complication - which is putting it lightly - has been found with my Nome as a whole." Carter rose eyebrow as he chewed a mouthful of food. "For you to understand, I must explain the Archive to you. The Archive is the brain of our defenses and information storage, it is a self regulatory and self-maintenance closed-loop magic network-" "Does that come in English?" Asked Sadie. Carter shot a warning glance at her. "Forgive her, but even I'm not sure what that means." Lucia nodded. "Generally speaking… It's a brain. Thinks, acts, and grows on it's own. Is that clear enough?" Sadie nodded. "Should have just said that from the beginning, I like you, but you sounded like Carter there for a second." Lucia couldn't help but smile at that. "I take that as a compliment." Sadie gave her a disappointed gaze as she slowly shook her head. "Please continue," asked Carter. "Understood. As I was saying, when the Archive was created, the idea of it was to be a self-sustaining closed-loop, self-reliant for a simple term, system; to sustain itself for hundreds if not, thousands of years without a connection to the outside world or human intervention; as it would seek help on its own when it deemed necessary. By this concept, all research and records of the magic or technology used to create it; was destroyed. It was a marvel to the magicians then, and to us today. I had discovered it upon my arrival here when I was assigned here." Carter wiped his mouth with a napkin. "You said it's a marvel to you today, does that even you cannot even glance at its inner works?"

Lucia nodded. "I've tried, but failed every time. I think it has set instructions to deal with outside intrusion, any time I thought I was getting somewhere, It changed algorithms and out-smarted me. However, I _can_ access its stores of information it collects. During our internal investigation to figure out your interest in _that_ staff, we discovered that records of it's arrival does not exist or has been erased; including the names of all who entered the Library during and before the date the Staff was brought in. That is all we have to go off of." Carter seemed to be less interested in the food he was previously scarfing down as he slowly lowered his fork and knife. "The records were destroyed, right?" Lucia nodded. "Then how did someone access it?" Lucia shook her head. "That is what we would like to find out. Until further notice, the Library has been set in lockdown mode. Only everyone at this table is permitted to enter and exceptions for ones we give permission."

Carter nodded. "That indeed is a complication." After dinner, Lucia allowed the Nome members to meet Carter and Sadie and ask them some questions, one at a time. When they had their fill, Lucia lead them to the Library with Ethan, Helen and Celo. In the Library, Helen locked the doors behind them and a light blue ward flashed to life on it. A ward is a jumbled mix of hieroglyphs of multiple different purposes, overlapping each other; indiscernible from one another. "Is it safe to talk here?" Asked Sadie. Lucia nodded. "Wards are built into this Library to prevent eavesdropping by physical and magic means." Sadie sighed. "Finally, down to business. I assume you want to know why we are interested in the Soul Harvesters Staff, right? Well allow me, the all knowing Sadie to enlighten you by starting off with a question; do you know how we defeated _the_ chaos snake last year?" Lucia nodded. "No magician doesn't know. I must thank you personally for saving the world, and indirectly, mine and everyone's life here." Sadie smirked. "And I like you again." Carter elbowed her, who protested by saying, "Hey! It's nice to get some recognition, you know!" She shook her head and gave them an exasperated expression as if saying _can you believe this guy?_ Lucia smiled, finding the situation amusing. "But, before I go any further, I must ask that each of you hold the secret I am about to tell you close to your own souls and never let it slip. This is something we'd _never_ tell if the situation didn't warrant it. It is possible to perform an execration spell on a _Shuet_ or ' _shadow'_ of the soul." She paused as if reluctant to continue, "even on a god. Me and Carter, as well as help from our immortal pals, used this technique to destroy Apophis.

"The Staff of the Soul Harvester is important, because, while it harvests souls obviously, it holds the power to forge or even _reforge_ one's soul. However, this technique… requires the sacrifice of the life force of a living soul; the stronger the soul being reforged, the more sacrifices needed. The removal of the life force of the soul is messy, usually resulting in an explosion or rippling waves of magic energy-" "Wait," Ethan said, Sadie seemed annoyed that he interrupted her, she wanted to protest but Ethan continued. "Doesn't that sound like the reports about what happened when the Soul Harvester was cornered? The 1906 San Francisco earthquake?" Lucia nodded. "Could the Harvester have activated the staff upon his final breath?" Sadie shook her head. "No. It requires the full life force of a living soul, someone who was dying couldn't activate the staff." Lucia thought she was going to be sick. "Then…" Carter spoke up, "something else entirely happened in 1906 San Francisco." Lucia had enough for one day. She rubbed her temples. "Then what exactly happened?" Sadie shook her head, "we don't know, but we are here to take the staff and secure in the First Nome before-" "Before what?" A deep voice had said that shook the room. Lucia drew her daggers, Helen summoned her hieroglyphs, Ethan drew his wand, Celo prepared his combat magic; Carter drew his hook and flail, Sadie drew her wand. "Who is that?" Celo asked, Sadie and Carter acted like they had seen a ghost. "Oh, little Kane's, It's been too long."

Sadie shook her head. "Impossible! You're-" "Destroyed?" The disembodied voice said, then filled the room with deep laughter. "You don't even realize what is going on. Something… Big is in the works, not even you can stop it. Not Percy. Not Jason. This time, I WILL DESTROY OLYMPUS _AND_ SWALLOW THE SUN!" It's rage filled shook the room, cracks and dust filled the room, wards all over the room began to flash in a displays of thousands of colors; which would have been beautiful except for the crushing force encircling the room. An hieroglyph appeared in the air, Isfet; Chaos. Black tendrils began to snake across the room, a large gale blew from the hieroglyph, books flew off their shelves, _Shabti_ crumbled, the wards flashed brighter and a loud audible crack appeared in a few. "The wards won't hold!" Lucia shouted over the wind. "The staff!" Carter yelled, swatting away a swarm of books. Small black tendrils split from larger tendrils and formed hundreds of black snakes. They surrounded Celo, Helen and Ethan, separating Carter, Sadie and Lucia from them. They got in formation, Helen in the middle, casting hieroglyphs, Ethan fired blasts of magic at the snakes, Celo slicing and punching with combat magic. They were trained and skilled, but they were being overwhelmed, Helen couldn't produce hieroglyphs fast enough. Lucia gripped her daggers and lunged. A feeling deep in her gut exploded, filling her gut with a weird tugging and tingling sensation; but she couldn't let it stop her. She would never let a Nome member die again if she could have prevented it. She slashed, cut, sliced, and casted, the snakes seemed to be endless, as well as the tugging sensation that continued to swell up.

When she came too, she was standing in the now destroyed Library, breathing heavy, thousands of cuts all over her body and bleeding. She was breathing heavily, looked around for more snakes, but only to discover Carter, Sadie, Ethan, Helen, and Celo staring at her in awe. She came down from her adrenaline rush, and her legs buckled, her vision flickered and danced, she stumbled, but Ethan caught her. "Is-" She coughed, "Is everyone alright?" Ethan smirked, "Madam, are you alright?" Her eyes narrowed, "Wha-" Her vision darkened.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucia awoke some time later, she ached all over, a throbbing numbness throughout her entire body. She groaned in agony as she tried to move, her body rebelled and screamed against her. She managed to roll over to her side, facing away from the door. She took deep breaths, trying to handle the pain. She heard the large double doors open, she didn't look; the movement would have been too painful. "Madam!" She heard a number of footsteps. Ethan's face appeared in her vision. "M-Morning." She winced as she talked. "Don't say anything, just rest up, okay?" She didn't answer, she really didn't have a choice. "W-What happened?" She asked through the pain. "The Staff… is gone." Said a voice, she recognized as Carter, he stepped into view. "As well as a number of other artifacts, however, we'd like to know what happened too. Did you channel the power of Nut?" Lucia shook her head lightly. "Then… what was that? That couldn't have been magic."

Sadie's voice came from behind Lucia, she described what happened. Apparently, seeing the snakes surround her friends, Lucia had lost it. She summoned a burst of wind that temporarily halted the gale coming from the Isfet hieroglyph, slamming all the books to the ground, then rushing into army of snakes, slashing, slicing, flinging concentrated wind with every strike, slicing dozens of snakes in seconds. Her own gale was flowing from her and battered away all the snakes and even blew away the Isfet Hieroglyph before finally coming to.

"But… All I remember-" She coughed, Ethan put a hand on her cheek. "It's okay, we can talk all you want about it when you feel better, get some rest." Carter looked toward Sadie, they exchanged glances, as if they had something in mind. "We'll… Contact you with more information. For now, we must head back to the Brooklyn House." Ethan nodded. "It was pleasure meeting you, Pharaoh, Sadie."

It took a couple days before Lucia was back on her feet and free of pain except for the occasional burst of pain here and there; or if she moved too fast. The majority of the Nomes resources were being directed to the repair of the Library and Vault, even Lucia herself constructed _Shabti_ to help repair. Lucia was standing in front of the desk with her arms folded, directing her _Shabti._ "Listen," Helen said, "I need you to go to the library in town, search for records we may not have, or corresponding mortal records; study the earthquake. I'll take over the _Shabti_." Lucia sighed. "Yeah. You're right." She rolled her shoulders and grunted from a small aching pain below her shoulder blades. She got dressed, a simple tight fitting blue dress, freshly washed her hair and drew her eyeshadow as the Eye of Horus on both sides, with knee high black boots. Her daggers tucked away, strapped to her sides. Mortals would see them as accessories, but anyone else would know to keep their distance. She took a taxi to town and walked a block to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Rows upon rows of books in a sleek modern design. Lucia spent a couple hours reading and researching, getting nowhere, when she felt a presence. She pretended not to notice, then looked around casually and inconspicuously. When she felt the presence directly behind her, she drew her daggers, lunged, to come face to face with a group of five snake women, her eyes widened, the same ones that attacked her and Ethan many years ago. Her ambush surprised the one the directly behind her, with just the touch of her dagger, the monster exploded into golden powder with a loud hiss, but it only bought her time. The other four recovered and cautiously eyed her, each equipped with a bronze breastplate and two bronze swords.

She took a fighting stance, then pain blazed up her side, she couldn't fight like this. The snake women seemed to tell and all lunged at the same time, Lucia panicked and summoned a word of power that she had kept in case of emergencies - like this one - PUSH. A gale of wind blew the snake women away from her, mortals in the area panicked as books were blown off the shelves, chairs knocked over, and papers fluttered into the air. Lucia took this time to run, but in severe pain, _not now! I can't…_ She ran down the corridor, towards an emergency exit, when a toilet flushed, and out came Kyle. He had a name tag that said "HI MY NAME IS: Kyle." His eyes widened, "L-Lucia?" Lucia wanted to run past him, but her lungs burned and the pain was starting to become too much. "P-Please-" She collapsed and he caught her, "Hide me, tell them off." Kyle seemed panicked, "w-what do you mean? Are you being chased-" Loud hissing came from down the corridor, screaming as well. "That… Didn't sound normal." Lucia nodded, forced him to look at her. "Be more confident, remember? Go beyond your limits?" His eyes steeled, and he opened the door he came out of, the mens employee bathroom. "U-Um sorry about the location-" She coughed, trying to talk. "I-It's fine, go! Tell them I ran somewhere else.." He put her down on the tiles then ran outside. Lucia listened as she breathed raggedly. The alarm blared as the emergency door was opened, noise and ruckus, then silence as the alarm shut off. After a pair of heartbeats, the door opened and in walked Kyle. "I-I think they are gone, whatever they were." Lucia rose an eyebrow, groaned as she tried to sit up, he rushed over to help her stand. "You… You could see them?" She asked and Kyle nodded. "Yeah, snake soldiers or snake-maids, like mermaids, but land versions." Lucia's eyes narrowed. "Oh forget it, these last few days have been a mess. I'm sorry about this." He shrugged. "Well, at least I know now why you said it would be fortunate for me to never meet you again. But.. here we are."

Lucia sighed, relaxing, as the pain began to subside. She stretched, "what did you tell them?" He shrugged, "I had to think fast, but I pretended to have tried to stop you from going out the emergency exit, telling them that you ran up-town, towards the Point." She smiled, "You took charge, with confidence. You should be happy." A small smile appeared on his face, "heh, maybe you're right. Anyways, what was all that about?" Lucia winced as if she was in pain again. "I… I can't really tell you, but.. You can see them, so I'm not sure." He shook his head, "How about we discuss this some other time? I'm sure authorities will be here soon, as well as my manager and other employees. I'm sure, whatever it is you are, you don't do well with the feds? And I'm guessing you don't want to um, be in the men's bathroom any longer." Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. "U-um, yeah. Thank you." They cautiously walked out of the bathroom, making sure not to be seen. "I must thank you for saving my life there," He seemed taken aback, "Saving your life? Were those… creatures, after you?" Lucia nodded. "It's kinda… my thing. I did manage to kill one of them before my episode of pain started, I had to run after that." Kyle gulped, "I-I'm guessing then, that those are real?" He pointed to her midsection and she looked down, at the daggers strapped to her sides.

She pondered answering for a second, then nodded. "Yes. Yes they are."


	6. Chapter 6

They left the library before the police arrived, and made it to a restaurant a few avenues down to avoid the police as much as possible. "Order whatever you want, it's on me." Lucia said, he tried to protest, but she reached for her dagger and he clammed up. "Good." They ordered and as they waited, Lucia started by saying, "So, I'll answer what I can, other than that… You're interesting." He shrugged. "What were those snake-maid-men-things?" Lucia scowled, "No clue. They attacked me and a friend a few years ago, I barely escaped with my life… As I did today, thanks to you." He smiled at that. "Why do you have daggers?" He seemed confused at his own question, "I mean, I know you're being chased or something, but like, normal people don't have daggers; not to mention no one else seems to notice." Lucia drew her right dagger and looked it over. "Hm. I'm not the average highschool student-" "Highschool student? How old are you?" Lucia glared at him. "I'm only seventeen. How old did you think I was?" He shrugged again, "I dunno, just, you seemed so refined, mature, and confident, I thought you were like, in your late teens, if not early twenties."

She smirked, finding his all-over-the-place questioning somewhat endearing. "As I was saying, I… Kinda keep creatures like those in check, keeping them from interacting too much with the regular world. Except, back then I wasn't as skilled as I am today, and today I wasn't at one hundred percent. Someday, they will mess with me at the wrong time and I will get my payback." He whistled. "You know, I usually think lines like that are cheesy and cringe-worthy, but coming from you they are actually intimidating." She smiled, something she seemed to do a lot around him. "I'm more interested in you, however. How long have you been able to see things like that?" They paused in conversation as their food arrived. "Always," He said after the hostess left. "I don't recall a time I _couldn't_ see them. I've always thought I had schizophrenia or something, always too scared to know for real and they seem to leave me and those I care about alone though." Lucia nodded. "They usually never attack mortals, but almost always want to kill us magicians." Lucia paused, realizing she said 'mortal' and 'magicians'. If he had caught that, he didn't let on. "Anyways," Lucia tried to say, "See anything that sparked your curiosity?" He was silent as he thought. He tapped his fingers on the table, "There was this one time, I visited family in Long Island a few years ago, when it was hit with a hurricane or something. The weird thing is, no one remembers it. I just remember sitting at the table with my family at dinner, then becoming very tired. Everyone passed out around me, before I did. When I came too, sirens blazed outside, the streets were a mess, monsters all over the place, and a couple dozen kids ranging from 11-17 from my estimates, with bronze swords, bronze armor, and red horsehair plumed helmets, and at least a little below a dozen silver all-female archers. The weirdest sight I ever saw, but what amazed me was what they were facing. They were surrounded, outnumbered 20-1, cornered at the base of the Empire State Building, I watched from safety of course; but the entire scene was just… insane. I thought I had finally lost it, when the sky lit up with pulses of energy, and when it all calmed down, the tip of the building was highlighted blue. And just as fast it happened, it was gone. The monsters vanished, the kids in the bronze armor got in some strawberry company's vans, and were gone. The entire city looked like it was hit by some natural disaster, I… I still have no idea what it was that I saw."

Lucia had listened with a blazing curiosity. "Bronze armor and bronze swords?" Kyle poked at his half eaten plate, suddenly uninterested in it, "Yes. They had orange t-shirts under their armor, I saw one take of their armor after the fight and it had letters on it but I was too far away to read it; and blue jeans. There were a few that stood out to me, but the one in particular was a kid with longish shaggy black hair, he seemed to command them. He was cool to watch, but I only saw a little of him as he went into the State Building and I left before he came down, I guess." Lucia waited for him to say "JUST KIDDING!" but yet she believed him at some level in her heart. "What kind of monsters were they?" Kyle paused. "That's it! I've seen those snake people there! I was trying to place my finger on why I thought they seemed familiar; they were there in Manhattan, along with pure evil black hounds, Minotaur's and other scary creatures." Lucia became personally interested in the story now. "Long Island, you say?" He shook his head. "Well no, I was in the Long Island, but it all happened downtown Manhattan, the Empire State building held importance for the kids in the bronze armor, as they got pushed back by the overwhelming sheer number of monster army-" "army?" Lucia interrupted. He nodded. "There at least hundreds if not thousands of monsters of many kinds there. The one thing that bothered me, there were even other kids dressed similarly to the kids defending the State Building, but fighting on the monster's side. Two opposing sides, two organized groups fighting for control, it was nothing less than a monster _army._ " Kyle said. "That is, if I'm i'm not _actually_ insane as it would make more sense than I felt at the time."

Lucia shook her head. "I don't know, but… somehow I believe you. Your descriptions just seem… too real and specific to be fabricated." He shrugged. "I still have a hard time making sense of what I saw that day, but whatever it was, didn't compare to last year. I didn't visit Long Island last year, but something HUGE was definitely going on around there. It was in the middle of the day and yet I could see black clouds that blacked out the sun in the north, I could see the very Earth itself directing all of it's attention to that specific area. I don't know the specifics, but a war, larger than the war fought in downtown Manhattan, took place. I believe it had something to do with the bronze warriors, as I've called them in my head. But I've been… too afraid, to say the least, to go back to New York." Lucia was immensely curious, she made a mental note to go investigate when she had the time, for now, she had bigger problems. "What about the silver archers you mentioned?" Kyle shrugged. "No clue. They were just a bunch of girls, clad in silver outfits, that had inhuman accuracy, speed, and precision. They were a small army in themselves. Aside from that, I don't have any idea as to the who, what, or why." Lucia felt disappointed, she was so interested, but she knew she couldn't press Kyle for answers he didn't have.

Silence took over their conversations as the two picked at their food. "What about you? What brought you to the library?" She finished chewing and wiped her mouth with a napkin, "well," she began, "I discovered something and I was searching for information on it." Kyle rose an eyebrow, but thankfully he was smart enough to press for answers. He cleared his throat, then said, "I heard you mention magicians, earlier? I didn't want to pry, but…" Lucia sighed. "I let that slip, so I might as well tell you a little. Yes, I am a magician and I belong to an organization of magicians." She put down her fork and knife to draw her daggers from her sides. When Kyle saw them, his eyes widened. "These daggers double as-" "The-the bronze!" He said, Lucia was confused. "Bronze?" Kyle nodded, "That bronze looks identical the glowing bronze the Bronze Warriors used!" Lucia slowly lowered her gaze to her daggers, which have been with her since she had forged them with the help of Nut; they suddenly seemed alien. "Are you-" She tried to say, "Yes I'm sure." Kyle said swiftly. She was stunned for the second time in her life. "I was saying.." she gulped, "that these doubled as my wands for combat." She used it write "PULL" on her unused napkins and the hieroglyph blazed to life and the napkins jumped into her palm, then blinked out of existence. "That looked like some type of Egyptian picture language that I've seen in History books and on the History channel.." She nodded. "Yeah, It's… It's got something to do with Egypt." She shook her head and sheathed her daggers. "I can't say much more than I already have, please, just be happy with what I have divulged already." Before he could answer his phone rang, he looked at the screen, then grimaced. "Oh joy. It's my boss." He stood and walked a couple steps away from the table and took the call, Lucia patiently waited. After a few minutes he walked back over, "I'm sorry, but.. I've got to go. My boss wants to know why I left and why the security cameras showed me hiding a girl in the employee's bathroom and then leaving with her through the emergency exit when I should have gone back to my post and called the police." Lucia grimaced as well, "don't make that face," he said, "I'll probably lose my job, I didn't like it much anyways. I'll handle him and the authorities if I get questioned. You… you do whatever it is magicians do. See you later, Lucia." He hurried off. Lucia sighed and slumped back into her chair.


	7. Chapter 7

Lucia returned to the Nome, as she did Ethan was waiting for her at the entrance of the Pittsburgh House. "Lucia! I thought I told you not to go out on your own!" Lucia scowled. "I can handle myself just fine, Ethan." She rolled her shoulders. "A little bit of pain isn't going to stop me." Ethan shook his head, "you can't fool me," Ethan pulled out his mobile phone and showed her a news broadcast of her falling into Kyle's arms, him dragging her into the bathroom, then blurry figures appeared, Kyle led the blurry figures out the emergency doors before leaving with the girl himself. "A little bit of pain, huh? Looked to me as if you collapsed. If that mortal hadn't helped you, Lucia… You'd…" Lucia looked away. "I appreciate your concern, but do not patronize me as if I am a little girl. You know I hate that." Ethan put a hand on her cheek and she looked at him. "Listen," his voice gentle, "I'm not saying this to make you angry or to annoy you, but… because I care. If I lost you because you couldn't fight at a hundred percent, I'd have to hunt down whatever monsters took you away from me, even if it cost my life in the process." Lucia's anger evaporated, she placed her hand on his, then gripped it, and removed it from her cheek. "Like I said, I appreciate your concern, and I understand your reasoning. And… Yes, the pain was a little more than I could bear and yes that mortal did save my life, but… the information regarding the Archive's intrusion is even more important than my safety. I'd gladly die if it meant uncovering the intruder and the truth; sacrificing myself to keep the Nome safe. I've sworn to protect it no matter what… and I plan to keep that promise. I made that clear to you-" "You would be glad to have thrown your life away, finding nothing the Carnegie Library?! You're smarter than that, I could have gone, or Celo or Helen, but you're the most important part of the Nome! In case you forgot, you are our Sem Priest, at your best, you are far more skilled and stronger than everyone in the Nome! You are our most important piece, not one to be played first! The enemy would _love_ to eliminate you first! Aside from that, how do you think it makes those close to you feel when you speak of throwing your life away?! Huh?!" Lucia was silent. Then looked down. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just…" "You hate not doing anything. I've been around you long enough to know that, but.. You must know when you must sit one out, you can't do everything by yourself, but you make a pretty good attempt at it. Please, don't be rash. I don't know what happened to you during the Library fight, but don't let it change you." With that he walked away, Lucia was frustrated, but she ignored it and reported to Helen that she had not found anything.

In the following days, Lucia and Ethan didn't talk, and each increasing day, Lucia felt worse and worse. She hadn't been thinking straight, Ethan was right. Ethan was her closest friend of many years, she didn't want to ruin it just like that. However, she became increasingly frustrated, no information came from Carter as to what in the Ra had attacked her Nome and no new information could be found on the culprit of the Archive Intrusion. The only good news was that Kelvin and India had made up, and had been learning under their Paths. One night, Lucia had become so frustrated that she couldn't sleep. She put on a jacket and jeans, grabbed her pillows and blankets, and went to the balcony. It was a warm breezy summer night, it took her at least forty minutes to an hour to set up a warm comfortable place for her to sleep. She laid back and stared up at the stars and the moon. The sky was mostly clear except for the occasional cloud. She had thought about the current situation to her life, just last week they had celebrated Helen's birthday, no deaths or serious injuries (thankfully, except for hers) for at least six months, everything had been fine, at best, they were looking at a bright future. Now, she wasn't so sure. _Little one._ A disembodied woman's voice spoke in her head, but she knew who it was. She hadn't contacted Lucia in some time, but she always did when Lucia hits a wall. _My goddess._ Lucia could almost feel the sky's attention, and if she looked hard enough, she could almost make out a woman's face in the endless folds of the sky, looking down at her. _What troubles you?_ She asked, she was more caring and sweet than Lucia had thought she'd be. _I don't want to bother you._ She decided this time. _You've always been there for me, despite you know, being a creation goddess and stuff. I… I can figure this out on my own._

 _Allow me to help, little one._ "Little one" had become the goddess's favorite nickname for Lucia. She didn't mind, because to the goddess whose body _was_ the sky, Lucia could see how she'd be considered 'little' by Nut. _I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but why? Everyone's always tells me the gods have a plan, that they always have ulterior motives, always looking to gain from us magicians and mortals. But, you're nothing like what they say. You've always helped me without a price, at least, one that I don't see._ Lucia could have sworn that she saw the stars disappear and reappear in a single instant, as if the sky itself, blinked. _There is still so much you don't know, little one, so much I can't tell you. You are not ready yet._ Lucia has heard this line ever since she first started communicating with the goddess. _I've got no choice but to let you help, huh?_ Lucia then spotted a constellation that vaguely resembled a smiling face. _Then, would you answer some questions I have and maybe send me in the right direction?_ The goddess was silent, but Lucia knew at least one thing Nut shared with the stereotype of the gods; she would only answer the questions she wanted to.

Lucia closed her eyes and a warm breeze rolled over her. _How do you think I can make up with Ethan?_ The goddess chuckled, _I cannot offer much advice on this subject. I've been kept away from my own lover for many eons, and with all immortals, we just simply wait until things are water under the bridge, which isn't a problem for an immortal, as we truly have all eternity to wait. You mortals, however, live very short lives and disappear almost as fast as you appear. Thus, I have watched the world with longing, and in turn, have watched the races that live on the surface of my lover, both whom looks back up at me lovingly. I have been contacted and sacrificed to by mortals, I've watched empires rise and fall, I can only recommend you seek mortal advice on this subject. All I will say is; don't wait till it's too late._ It wasn't the answer Lucia had hoped for, but it was clear and made sense. Different than the immortals usually were. _Would have any information you could give me regarding the crisis in my Nome?_ Nut was dangerously silent, by that, the cars seemed to have stopped, the crickets and locusts stopped, the night became silent as if stepping on dangerous territory. The words came, clear and cold, _Which one?_ Lucia gulped, _Let's… Just start off with the Archive._ The stars blinked again. _As I have said, I have watched the Earth for many aeons, however there were times when my attention was divided to many different things more than usual… the 1900's was one such time. There isn't much I am allowed to tell you, but let's just say a certain troublesome goddess was waking and I was one of the few who wanted to do something about it. I wasn't aware of the chase, nor did I really see the battle, but It did draw my attention at it's conclusion when they slew the Soul Harvester. See, the Soul Harvester had been a pain in our necks for a long time, he continued to reincarnate and each time got closer and closer to actual immortality. Thankfully, those who ran your Nome before you, managed to kill him, if he had gotten away, he would have achieved immortality by now._

 _What caught my attention was the activation of his staff, after his mortal body had been slain and his soul had been been taken to Osiris - The gods had been patiently waiting to snatch his soul away the instant we were able to - Someone else activated the staff, and the shock waves of magical energy and massive loss of life, drew my attention. The culprit had long vanished when I got a full view of the situation; all that remained was the staff, which was taken to the Nome and placed in the center, for good reason. I felt similar ripples near the Nome some time later, I went to investigate in a physical form, to discover every one dead. It has been abandoned ever since. During that time, the culprit could have returned and gone any numerous times, I do not have any clue. My guess, look for the Nome, the twelfth, that discovered the bodies and investigated. They are located in Long Island._ Lucia's heart raced. _That location seems popular recently. Would you happen to know anything of magical origin or anything of the like in that particular region?_ A presence surrounded Lucia, she could have sworn the sky itself was bending around her. She was in awe as she realized she was in the presence of Nut, she had the goddess's full attention. _What have you heard of Long Island?_ Lucia told her what she learned from Kyle. As she spoke A force pressured around her and the air began to sizzle and pop, increasing in intensity. _Ah. I had… forgotten, about them to say the least. It's been at least aeons since I last came into contact with them._ Lucia was paying close attention, even though a massive invisible force bore down on her. _Who is them?_ The pressure got stronger, Lucia began to find it difficult to breathe. _Listen Lucia I cannot tell you. I am forbidden, but listen to me you must go-_ The door to the balcony burst open, Ethan had his pajamas on and his wand out, "Madam! There is some force, some presence, circling the-" He recognized it. "N-Nut?" Instantly the sky folded in on itself, the pressure released and Lucia released a gasp of air she did not know she was holding.

The sky was silent. "No!" Lucia cried and sat up, "I was so close to a direct answer!" Ethan looked confused. "You were.. Talking to Nut?" Lucia sighed and nodded. Ethan put his wand in his shirt pocket. "Ra praise us, I thought that disembodied Apep returned." He seemed to want to say more, pausing awkwardly long. Finally, he turned, "well," said Ethan, "good night Lucia." "Wait." Lucia said, unwrapped herself from her blankets, revealing her night wear, a lacy baby blue blouse. "Come here. We need to talk." She held the blanket open for him, he paused. "U-Uhm, but Lucia I can-" Her cheeks flushed, "I know you can see, just, come here." He reluctantly walked over and with some shuffling and rearranging, they were cuddled up under the blanket, under the stars. Lucia laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted that day. The pain had gotten the better of me, I'm usually more careful and smarter than that. You were right and… I didn't want to admit I was wrong. You…" She took a shaky breath, "You are the most important person to me, you know that? The only friend I ever had. I don't want to ruin that. I don't want you to be upset with me anymore, I hate it." For awhile Ethan was silent, but he eventually laid his head on hers. "It's alright. I was.. Giving you space to cool down, I could tell how much the pain was affecting you. That day, I was just worried out of my mind, but I know you'd chew me out if I had went to rescue you that day. Especially, if I had gotten hurt.. Or worse, in the process, you'd never forgive yourself; however I considered going anyways, as it.. Would have been worth it. You're smart, confident, and skilled, I know you. I was just frustrated because it didn't seem like a decision you'd make. I put thoughts in my head that whatever happened in the Library changed you and… I was afraid to lose you. You mean a lot to me, you saved my life afterall. We've been together, from the beginning, when the Nome was only us two. I rely on you, the Nome itself relies on you. We'd fight the world if that became the case, and all of it for you. And we'd be confident that you'd get us through it." Lucia smiled, happiness and warmth blossoming inside of her. In her ecstasy of joy and the exhaustion of her frustration, she said, "Stay with me."

Ethan stiffened. "B-But.. Lucia.." She motioned and he lifted his head, she looked him in the eyes. "I know the rules, I made them. Just, when I'm with you, my nightmares become meadows, my worries melt into a smile that lasts so long it hurts my cheeks. In the recent events, I… I just want one night, just one, to forget my responsibilities, to forget my worries and be close to the person who makes that possible." Ethan listened to her with wide eyes, stunned. Ethan was a tall caucasian guy, seventeen, slight tan, with short brown hair and bright green eyes. His face was refined, but smooth. He was lean and fit, and matches it with smarts. He was blessed with good looks and brains. "..O..Okay. One night." He said softly. Lucia smiled. "Thank you, for everything, Ethan." She curled up with him, and together, she fell asleep peacefully in his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

Lucia woke up in her bed, she was on her stomach, diagonally. She corrected herself and stretched, looked around, no sign of Ethan. Was what happened last night, a… a dream? She shook her head, she wouldn't accept that. She paused, why did she care so much? Why did it bother her so much? Could she- The door opened and Ethan poked his head in. "Oh," he said, walking in and closing the door behind him. "You're awake." He walked closer to her. "Where did you go?" He gave her a weak smile, "sorry about that," her spirits immediately rose knowing that it wasn't a dream, "in the middle of the night, it began to rain. It woke me up, so I picked you up and carried you inside. You must have been tired, you slept the entire time." He wasn't wrong, she had lost sleep from her frustration. "Anyways," He said, "I didn't want to leave as you had… really wanted me to stay with you that night, but I couldn't bring myself to get into the bed… It was… too weird." He looked away, his cheeks red. Lucia smiled softly at that. _At least, it wasn't a bad reason._ She thought to herself. "Lucia," He began, interrupting her thoughts, "what you said… last night, did you mean any of it?" It was Lucia's turn to be embarrassed. "I-I said too much last night, my emotions got the better of me. But.. I did mean it." He walked over and sat on the bed, looked her in the eyes. "Lucia," he swallowed, took a deep breath, but before he could speak, she put a slender finger on his lips; reading the situation. "..Please," she said softly with a pleading look on her face, she gulped, "please," she said this time with more emotion, "don't." His eyes widened and Lucia was worried that she angered him. It wasn't like Lucia didn't like him, in fact, she did a lot. She even feared she loved him. Feared was the right word, during her run from Pittsburgh to the First Nome in Cairo, she stopped in Italy, by the guidance of Nut, to a fortune teller. Apparently, Nut assured her this particular teller's fortunes were accurate and that there was something she had to know. The fortune teller was a small stout Italian girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, named Angela. Her shop was full of trinkets and looked like something you'd see inside of a Genie's lamp. She read her fortune through some magic that had to deal with dragon bones that Angela assured her, were real. Angela had told her that she had seen many hardships in her future, that she played a big role, and that she _MUST_ beware of love. Lucia didn't think much of it at the time, because she didn't have anyone in mind then; but Angela and Nut were dead serious, so she has been cautious. That is why Lucia didn't want Ethan to tell her how he felt… yet, she had been careful and kept her own feelings bottled up, but in the height of her joy, she said too much. Thankfully, she didn't say _too_ too much.

He just sighed and nodded, "y..yeah, okay. Anyways, breakfast is ready whenever you are." With that, he stood and left. She looked down, she had to have hurt him by stopping him, but she minimized the pain has she never said she wasn't interested. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before getting ready. As she walked down the stairs in a filly red dress shirt, and a long red frilly skirt with a flower pattern, her hair tumbled down her shoulders and her back, down to the middle of her back. As she came down the stairs, she heard the "Attention!" as always. She gave them a warm smile as she walked by, as she walked by India's table, "Madam," she called, Lucia stopped and rose an eyebrow at her. "How is your pain? We are all worried that you put on a role when you are in front of us. But be real with us, are you okay?" Everyone collectively nodded, gazing at her worried. Lucia sighed and closed her eyes, walked over to the Commander's Table, turned to face them. "As you all know, there was an attack on our Nome a few days ago, In my attempt to keep everyone safe, I used too much magic. I am suffering from the affects of that, nothing major, in fact, the pain mostly isn't prevalent, just, when I move too fast or stretch the wrong way. I am humbled by your concern, but I want everyone training and practicing."

"Yes, Madam." They said together. Lucia sat and clapped her hands, and the kitchen doors burst open and breakfast began. "Was what you said true, madam?" Asked Ethan as they were served. Lucia nodded. "I don't feel it constantly anymore, just when I move sometimes, and it's not bad unless I move too fast or stretch my body the wrong way." Helen took a bite of her food, "Ethan told me you were speaking with Nut last night?" Lucia nodded. "You actually talked to a goddess?" Celo asked, he was one of the few who elected not to train under a god. He said that was too outlandish for him, that he couldn't wrap his mind around a being that has lived for aeons, before his father's father's father was born; back when Rome was an empire stretching across all of Europe. Lucia nodded. "My relationship with Nut is… different than I can say the least. I've always been told not to believe the gods, always be cautious, but she's always honest and always looking out for me. Whenever I'm at a crossroads, she always seems to have an answer for me or a direction. There seems to be no price, but that is what worries me. That, maybe, there is a price, but I don't know it. Aside from that worry, I am nothing but thankful to her, she is the reason I am here after all." Helen wiped her mouth then said, "Right, Nut's your Path, right?" Lucia nodded. "It's been so long since we last talked about this, I had forgot. I did get a reminder during the attack on the Library. Didn't you channel her power?" Lucia was waiting for this conversation. Even though the attack happened a few days ago, they had been busy repairing it and she had been busy recovering and searching for information. "No." Everyone at the table paused. "You're saying.. That what we saw, was your magic?" Lucia shook her head. "I've had time to think on it, but no. It was… something different than those two. I didn't channel Nut's power, I did activate my magic, of course, but there was something activated alongside it. I still don't know what it was, but that was the first time. The only way I can describe it, would be, magic. Like, a second storage of magic."

All three of them seem confused. "Two stores of magic?" Lucia shrugged and shook her head. "I am sorry, that is the only way I can describe it. It was like magic on adrenaline, pushing it past it's limits. I've summoned bursts of wind before, but if what Sadie described it as is true, a gale larger than the one the Hieroglyph of _Chaos_ created, then it had to be something like that. I've never been able to summon a _gale_ of wind. That costs more magic than I have." Celo nodded as he took a sip of his drink. "That's right. An aura of wind surrounded your body that continued to expand and increase in velocity as it continued. The weirdest part about it to me was that there were no Hieroglyphs needed, you didn't draw or summon any. You only summoned Hieroglyphs for your combat magic." Helen's eyes widened. "He's right! How _did_ you summon that gale without a hieroglyph?" Lucia shook her head. "No idea." Ethan cleared his throat. "I guess, I wasn't crazy, I thought I just didn't see the hieroglyph. Lucia, did you _really_ not draw one?" Lucia nodded. "I, Lucia Romano, swear that I did _not_ draw a hieroglyph for wind. I didn't think my wind magic would do anything to aid that situation other than risk injury to you all and impede my progress." Ethan nodded. "I completely agree," he said, "I just wanted to be sure. To me, it seemed like your body itself generated the gale. But.." Lucia understood. "You thought you were crazy as you said." Lucia finished and shivered. "I dislike that description, but it's the only one that makes sense. Maybe I should ask Nut." They all nodded, then Helen said, "Did she tell you anything important?" Lucia was suddenly not hungry anymore. She started slow, but eventually couldn't stop herself when she began talking. She told them about the Soul Harvester's Staff being activated after his death, about the entire Nome being dead, and about the Twelfth Nome in Long Island Sound. "Them?" Asked Helen. Lucia nodded. "She was going to tell me about them, but then Ethan burst onto the balcony, for good reason. Nut was surrounding the Nome." Helen's eyes widened, "s-she was?" Ethan nodded. "I felt a presence squeezing on the wards and myself," aside from Lucia, Ethan was the only one else who was connected to the wards, "I ran to wake Lucia in case Apophis had returned. I found her talking to Nut." Celo shifted in his chair, "Talking? Was Nut there physically?" Lucia shook her head. "I hosted Nut once upon a time, when I ran into a rogue magician on my way to the First Nome, at the goddess's insistence; my soul is connected to hers. She can contact me through our thoughts, but I haven't combined our souls ever since." Helen seemed shaken. "You… You hosted a _creation_ goddess and you're still sane?" She said. Lucia nodded, "It was difficult to manage with at first, I thought my mind would collapse under the weight, but Nut guided me and I got used to it as our souls got more and more acclimated. It was… incredible to say the least. I felt powerful and well, I was. That fight was easy, Nut guided me, but with every swing of my arm, a high pressured blast of wind battered him, with every step I took towards him, gravity got stronger and stronger. When he collapsed to the ground, I put my foot on his chest, pointed my wand at him, Nut said that I should kill him because rogue magicians are dangerous and that he might come back for me in the future-" "Wand?" Ethan said, "you never told me this story or that you ever had a wand?"

Lucia shrugged and drew her right dagger, "I had my very first wand, one that Nut gave me, incorporated into the dagger I have to cast my Combat Magic. It's… important to me, I survived on my own with it. After so many life or death encounters, I couldn't toss it aside." Helen pursed her lips. "You always talk about how dangerous and how many times you nearly died on your first trip to Cairo, but everyone else seemed to have only minor difficulties except a few exceptions. But yours sounds the worse." Lucia shrugged, "Nut told me constantly that I was being hunted, and that I should keep moving." Ethan seemed concerned. "Hunted is a very strong word. By who or what?" Lucia shook her head. "Nut never said. When I made to the Nome and when she said I was safe at last, I asked who was chasing me, all she told me was 'if you know what's good for you, never search for that answer. It will stay away for good.'" Helen whistled. "That's pretty grim, you really never looked into it?" Lucia shook her head. "Never. I trust Nut and if she told me, as seriously as she did, who am I to ignore a warning like that?"

Lucia ate the last pieces of her food. "Madam," said Celo, "did you?" He asked. "Did what?" Lucia replied. "Kill the magician in your story." Lucia put down her fork and wiped her hands and mouth. "Yes." The table was stunned. "But.. you beat him, right?" Asked Helen. "I broke his wand, and with Nut's magic, I was pressing him to the ground. He couldn't move if he wanted to." Helen gulped. "Then.." Helen tried to say, but her voice failed. Lucia closed her eyes. "Then why? My decision was questionable, but Nut has never led me astray or lied to me. I came into contact with the rogue magician in Egypt, in the same desert the First Nome resides, by that time Nut's guidance had saved my life more times than I could count. She told me he is a loose end that could come back to bite me, so I followed her orders without question." The table was silent. "Enough about that," Ethan said finally, "Should we send a group to the Twelfth Nome?" Lucia nodded. "It's our best lead, they must have discovered something, anything. At best, our next lead. I will head this task group personally." Ethan opened his mouth to protest, but Lucia drew her left dagger, as Ethan sat to her left, pointed it at him. "I understand I have not _completely_ recovered from my pain, but this isn't the first time I've heard of that specific location; plus Nut told me herself that I should go. I know it's dangerous, but that place seems to be calling my name. I won't let this opportunity pass me up."

Ethan was silent for a few seconds. "I know, but what if it's a trap or something. She didn't finish her sentence, right? She might have been trying to warn you." Lucia flashed him a glare. "Nut has never led me to danger, always away from it. What makes this different? She sounded desperate to me." Ethan sighed. "I know you have complete trust in her, but Lucia, she still is an immortal-" Lucia's anger flared. "I know that." She said sternly. "But she hasn't given me a reason not to trust her. Tell me that I'm wrong when I say she acts differently towards me? Like she actually cares about me or something." Ethan shook his head. "Lucia, I understand that and no, you are right. But she still can't be blindly trusted-" Lucia stabbed the table. "For Ra's sake, I know that! I can't, for the life of me, find a price to her kindness or a reason. That's why I want _you_ to come with me, you never let me finish." Ethan clammed up. "Yes, Madam." Lucia pulled her dagger from the table, sheathed it, and stood, than realized the entire Nome was already looking towards her. They had witnessed their argument.

Lucia cleared her throat. "Everyone, I must announce a Quest." Murmur broke out in the Nome, excited faces and smiles. "But first, there is long overdue information I must divulge. A few days ago, almost a week by now, our Library was attacked, but only after I had discovered that the Archive… had been tampered with." They all looked at her with confused glances, they did not know much about the archive. She took a few minutes to explain to them what the Archive was, but not where it was located, and that even she could not access it. Scarlet, a girl with black hair and green eyes, and pale skin rose her hand. She wore a white blouse and blue jeans, a slim figure, spiked bracelets and dark eyeliner. "If you can't access it, then how did someone else do what you couldn't?" Lucia sighed, "that is what I'd like to find out. Someone, somewhere, knows the secret to the brain of my Nome. Someone, has fucked with my Nome, someone has fucked with my family," she couldn't help but get worked up in front of her Nome, "Someone has decided to fuck with THE 84th Nome. Are we going to stand for that?" "NO!" The answer was more than she thought she'd get. She let the room fall silent as their war cry echoed through the room; creating suspense and looked around, making sure they all had their eyes on her. "The voice that attacked us, was none other than, the chaos snake himself, Apophis." Josh, a bulky high schooler, with his school uniform on as he was to leave for school in a little, as some in the nome did, stood and said, "but-" "Wasn't he destroyed?" Lucia said. "Yes, but somehow, he has returned. I am awaiting information from Carter as we speak, but for now, we have our own crisis. I am telling you this, because as our enemy have gotten a LOT stronger, I must advise each and every one of you to be more careful than normal and that quests will now be strictly to strict and professional guidelines as they will be increasingly more dangerous. Am I understood?" "Yes Madam!"

" _I_ ," she put emphasis on the letter, "along with Ethan, will lead this mission. I request at least three more; one more combat mage along with myself, as well as a healer and a magician who specializes in words of power. I leave at noon, you have the rest of the morning to contact me and ask to join the quest. I will review all requests and make my final decisions one hour before, so you can prepare. Dismissed!"


	9. Chapter 9

With that, Lucia didn't look back, and left the room herself. She went all the way down to the training field, surprising a group who regularly trains with combat magic. "A surprise," said Allie, the combat magic instructor who followed the Path of Horus. "You here to train?" Lucia nodded. "I need to round out my skills before the quest, been way too long since a really good fight, the one in the library didn't count. Those were snakes." Allie nodded. "I'll have my students wait-" Lucia shook her head, "No. They need all the training they will get. Just tell them to pay me no mind." She nodded and went back to her group. Lucia listened to Allie give them their lesson as she got dressed behind the lockers, she changed into tight workout pants and a sports bra, her daggers strapped to the bottom of her forearms. She then tied up her long curly hair into a bun. As she was leaving, she saw that the group was already out on the field, practicing. Lucia cracked her neck and did a few warm-up stretches before heading over to the advanced part of the field with moving dummy's equipped with bats and non-harmful electric magic; but they did pack a punch powerful enough to knock you around. She set the level to expert and walked into the middle. She drew her daggers and prepared herself, the bell rang and a dozen or so dummies rose from the ground and moved on magically set, alternating paths; they were constantly changing tactics and conforming to the way you fought. They swarmed from all sides, she dashed forward, stabbing her dagger through the dummies wards and into it's heart, it lit up red indicating that if it was real person, they'd be dead. The dummy sunk back into the ground. She spun around, drew the circle for wind, a blast of wind blew, pushing back the dummies rushing from behind. She leaped towards them, dodging a spark of electric magic, slicing off a dummy's head, she prepared a word of power in her head, "FIST" a bright purple hieroglyph appeared in the air and four dummies were smashed into the ground with a loud _THUD._ She quickly and expertly dealt with the rest in a similar manner, with many different combat spells and well placed words of power. She stood in the left side, some dummies she broke off of their magical path, laid in the dirt. She was covered in sweat, breathing heavily.

She looked around and realized the group was watching her intently. "If you wanted," she began between her breaths, "an example of combat magic, you got one." She leaned over, her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. "That was… incredible," Allie said walking over with the results paper the machine calculates. "You've blown your previous record out of the water, your magical pressure has nearly tripled, and this time, you weren't even _hit_." She turned the paper to show Lucia and even she was surprised. Lucia was sure the electric had hit her at least once, but apparently, she was unscathed; the first time she had achieved that. "Well, one time was not enough. Run it again." Allie pursed her lips, "Aren't you still recovering? You sure?" Lucia wiped her forehead and twirled her daggers. "I need to be ready, and I've been through worse in my special training. Run it again." She ran it at least two more times, before she was struck with a pain episode towards the end. She was whacked with a bat and struck by an electrical spark in the back, sending her tumbling in the dirt, then struck three more times by electrical sparks, almost knocking her out of the area. Five hits, that spells game over in expert mode. The failure buzzer sounded and she Lucia pushed herself to her hands in knees as the pain exploded throughout her body, her vision danced slightly. She gripped the soft dirt and gritted her teeth, why must this pain torment her? Allie ran over, "Are you alright?!" She called, "I saw that, you were struck so many times at expert level!" Lucia nodded. "I-I'm fine, just.." "Pain?" A voice said to her side, she glanced over, seeing India, but behind India was the entire group looking at Lucia with worried expressions. Lucia nodded, but forced herself to stand, she almost stumbled backwards, but she caught herself. "I'm fine, but enough training before the mission." She sheathed her daggers and rolled her shoulders, the pain subsiding. "Madam," said India. "I.. I want to accompany you on your quest, I've learned a lot through Mafdet, since it's been awhile since anyone trained under her, she is going to teach me personally. I really think this will be a learning experience and I believe I can be of help." Lucia looked her in the eyes. "Our enemy is Apophis." India stared right back. "Someone even more deserving of justice." Lucia smiled. "I like the look in your eyes, I'll let you know."

Lucia returned to the Pittsburgh house and took a long hot relaxing bath to soothe her muscles and to release the tension she had built up recently. She changed into a tight black pants, a tight leather jacket, and she tied her hair up into a messy bun. Her outfit for missions. She was lacing up her shin-high combat boots when someone knocked on the door to her room. "Come in." Lucia called. The door opened and Ethan walked in. "Madam, Clyde wants to request to come along." Lucia nodded. "Bring him in." Lucia finished tying one boot. Clyde was a tall and lanky kid, acne and big iconic "nerd" glasses. He had short red hair and sharp blue eyes, he wore a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. He was one of the newer members, but like Lucia, he had received special training. He was an exceptional healer and apothecary, but also was skilled in combat magic. "You're still in training." Lucia said. "We all are." He replied. She nodded. "Fair. What made you decide to want to come along?" Lucia asked as she began lacing up her other boot. "I believe I'd be a very good addition to the team. I am trained in both combat magic and healing. I've even got a bunch of potions brewed. I want to help any way I can, and I believe the best way I can help is to provide my skills on the battlefield. I want to help keep everyone safe, I wasn't a magician when they fought Apophis the first time, I won't sit on the sidelines this time." Lucia was impressed he had thought it out this far. "We'll contact you. Thank you for your courage." He bowed to her respectively. "If I may, Madam, before I leave." Lucia rose an eyebrow, but stayed silent. "I believe I have a remedy for your pain. I've been doing research and went out and hunted for ingredients, and before I came to talk to you I brewed a potion for low-magic muscle pain." He took off the satchel he carried and placed it on the ground, then pulled out a vial with clear liquid in it. He handed it to her, it was warm.

"You sure it will work?" He nodded. "Oh, but you don't drink it. It's like a salve, you must apply it to your most affected areas and it'll spread. Magic. You need to rub it in. Be warned, I read it works for at least twelve hours before you need to reapply, I made enough to last a week or two, depending on how much is needed." She nodded. "I'll give it a try and let you know, thank you, Clyde." He bowed again before leaving. As soon as he left, Ethan said "I'd like to talk to you about our mission." Lucia nodded. "I wanted to as well, but, lock the door." Ethan seemed skeptical and did as he was told. "I'm going to trust you, the person closest to me with this. I wouldn't let anyone else do this, but if it works, it's worth it." He rose an eyebrow. She looked away and blinked, the room suddenly rising in temperature. She slowly held out the thick round vial to him. "C..Could you apply the salve?" His eyes widened and he blushed, "b-but-" Lucia shook her head embarrassed, "I can't reach my middle and lower back, where the pain is the strongest. I-I can't ask anyone else, I-I'd ask Helen but we haven't known each other that long, I-I o-only trust you with this." Ethan tried to protest, but then he finally sighed and took the vial. "Fine." She stared at him long enough until he realized he had to look away. His cheeks flushed, "oh, right, sorry." He turned around and Lucia unzipped her jacket and placed it on the bed, then took off the tightly linked thin chainmail light armor she had, then took off the black undershirt she had; revealing herself. Even though she was wearing a bra, she still tried to cover herself. "N-No peaking or I-I'll…" Ethan chuckled. "It's almost worth it to see your embarrassed face, but don't worry. I'm going to stare at the door knob until you tell me otherwise." She turned and laid onto the bed on her stomach. "I… I'm.. r-ready.." She heard his footsteps, he paused, then she felt the bed crease, then shuffling as he moved around. "C-Could you move onto the bed more?" He asked and she slid up a little. After a little more moving. He was almost sitting on her, she heard the 'plop' of the vial's lid. "U-Um, do we have.. You know, something to apply the salve?" Ethan asked, shyly. "H-He did say… y-you'd have to r..ru...rub it in…" Ethan paused, he gulped, "w-well okay, then. H-Here goes nothing. She heard squelching of liquid, then she felt something cold on her back, she jumped at the icy cold feeling. "S-Sorry!" He said, lifting his hands from her skin. "D-Did that hurt?" She made a "uh-uh" sound. "I-It's just… cold." She replied. "Cold? The salve's warm to me." Lucia was confused. "Maybe that means it's working?" She felt the bed move as Ethan shrugged. "I guess so. Well, I'm… I'm continuing." She braced herself as she felt his hands on her back. "Y-You said the lower and middle back, r-right?" He asked, "y-yes." She replied. His hands moved slightly up and the cold spread, but when it reached a certain point, it became warm. "S-Stop!" She said and he paused, "w-what?" He asked. "I-It suddenly became warm near the top." Ethan understood and then slowly rubbed in the salve, then applied some more as slowly lowered his hands. She held in her moans, despite the situation, the message was good. "H-how much s-should I put on?" He asked as he rubbed some in, when a part of her lower back suddenly tingled as it slowly became warm. "K-Keep going…." She said in between breaths, "I-I'll… l-let you know." After a back and forth like that, eventually all the salve that was needed was applied and Ethan stood up. She sat up. He put the vial on her nightstand, "Alright so-" He glanced at her, then immediately turned around to look at the door. "S-Sorry, Lucia! I-I forgot I-I didn't- you know-" Lucia laughed even though she was embarrassed. "It's alright, I myself had forgotten too." She quickly put back on her undershirt, her armor and then her leather jacket. "I'm good now."


	10. Chapter 10

He turned around and sighed. "That was.." He began, then his voice trailed off. "Awkward." She said and he nodded. "Now what did you want to talk about?" "Well," He walked over and pulled something out of his pocket. He unfolded a printed black and white map, the paper was so old it had began to crack and turn yellow. He laid it on her bed gently, "I've been looking for information on the Long Island area and found this map in the Library, it was inside a book about "the truth of Long Island", what I found was," he pointed at the red marker circle with the words _truth_ written over it. "They circled an area here, who ever put it there on a page talking about a disturbance in the north, as far north as Alaska. About something ancient and old awaking. Then about the World Wars, about its horrors, but it kept mentioning the "truth" to them, but never told what the truth was. But if you look here," he pointed to the red 'truth', "Is this truth somewhere in this area? All this is farmland." Lucia studied the map. "Anything else?" Ethan shook his head. "The book didn't say much about it, except that it was a false war, one that we were tricked into fighting. A trick to cull all knowledge of the truth, the author stated at the end that if he told us, he'd be sent to be culled too." Lucia grimaced. "Pretty dark and serious." Ethan nodded. "I thought this might be a good place to check before we head to the Twelfth Nome, might lead to what Nut wanted you to find." Lucia was filled with hope. "I thought you were against that." He shrugged. "I might as well help, and I didn't want you going off on your own. If we were going to search for it, might as well have a place to start." Lucia smiled, she was glad to have met Ethan. She put a hand on his cheek, "thank you." He gulped, "y-yeah, no problem."

Time passed and surprisingly no one else came to request to go on the quest. She called the Nome to meet at 11 as she promised. "As I have said, this mission will be dangerous and is immensely important. I thought this would be enough to convince more than two to step forward and put their names in the hat, so I will call out those who did with pride and honor as they are willing to walk into the fire to protect the Nome and it's residents. First, India Blackwell." India stood, seemingly shocked. "Yes, Madam!" She said. "I thank you personally for your courage and devotion to your training, Mafdet has taught you well. Go prepare yourself." India bowed, "Yes Madam!" Then hurried off. "Second, Clyde Gene," He stood from his table. "Again, I thank you for your courage and thank you for your remedy. It has been applied and have yet to test it." He nodded. "Go, get yourself ready." He bowed and left. "Now, all we need is a magician who specializes in words of power! As the Sem Priest, I especially know the number of those we have, it is the majority of my Nome. Do we have any volunteers?" Everyone began murmuring and looking around at each other, no one seemed to answer. Lucia opened her mouth to answer when a voice said, "I'll go!" She looked over to see Cole, one of their initiates. "Cole, I thank you for your courage; but, this mission is dangerous. We will need someone who is skilled-" Lucia tried to say, "I want to go! I didn't request because I know I'm not that far into my training, but I've trained every day until I've almost literally passed out! I think some field experience would help me immensely, besides... no one else is willing to go." Lucia looked around, "anyone else?" The room stayed silent. "Very well. Cole, go gather your things." He bowed and ran off. "With that, you are all dismissed." They all stood without a word and hurried off. When Lucia was sure everyone was gone, she stomped her foot, frustrated, and the feeling flared in her stomach and a short gust of wind blew through the room with enough force to shake the chandeliers and move and even knock over some the nearest chairs. Lucia placed her hands on her stomach, where the source of the tingling tugging sensation was located. It blazed inside of her like a thousand suns, it wasn't magic, that was for sure. It was like a power generator inside of her, it was immensely powerful, but as quickly as it had come, it vanished. "Whoa!" Helen cried behind her. "What was that?" Lucia turned, "the feeling in my stomach returned. I.. I don't know what that was, but.. That feeling _definitely_ wasn't magic. It's far too alien." She quickly explained to them how it felt similar to a large iceberg of power stored inside of her.

"If it's not magic, what is it?" Asked Celo. "No clue. I just…" She looked down at her palms, "It's something inside of me. I.." Lucia shook her head. "No. I have a mission to deal with." The double doors opened as India and Clyde returned. They had packs and bags, India was outfitted with her same wardrobe, but more tied up and less loose fabric. Clyde wore the same except for a black overcoat and a metal reinforced, locked case. "Welcome, I see you've prepared. Now, help me." Lucia had them help her pick up and move the chairs back to where they were. "So, who is the third?" Asked India and Lucia gave her a small smile. "That's…" The doors burst open. "I'm ready to go!" Cole smiled as he walked in with a backpack and a jacket. India turned to look at Lucia with an exasperated expression. "Cole?! An initiate?!" Lucia chuckled nervously. "No one else volunteered. I had no other choice. He'll do his best." Lucia said, trying to placate India. "Yeah! I'm going to show my skills on this quest!" Clyde set down his case, he was one of the older ones of the Nome at nineteen years old. He walked over to Cole who was a little under a foot shorter than him, Cole looked up at him defiantly. Clyde fixed his shirt, zipped up jacket and fixed his hair. Cole was only 14. Clyde then slipped off Cole's pack, then opened it and pulled out a book. "What's this?" He asked. "A book of words of power, I read it every night before bed." Clyde rummaged around and pulled out a bag of cheetos. "This?" Cole shrugged. "In case I get hungry." Clyde shook his head. "This an important and dangerous mission. We have rations that will keep us full when we break camp, hopefully we won't have to spend too much time in the wilderness. This space is valuable and what if it pops and gets all over anything important? No. Madam." He tossed it into the air and Lucia understood. She swiftly drew her left dagger and tossed it, when it pierced the bag, she tossed a current of air and brought it back. She caught it and whistled, a harpy came from the kitchen doors, it fluffed it's blue wings and looked at her with a tilted head. "Here." She tossed the cheetos from her dagger, the harpy, as fast a lightning snatched it up in one gulp and then dashed back into the kitchen. "Hey!" Cole complained. "Listen," Clyde said. "This is a learning experience." He knelt down. "You wanted to learn, listen to our advice. What if you got separated from us? What if you forgot an extra wand? This is a matter of life or death. Treat it like it, not a field trip." Cole was silent, even Lucia was surprised how commanding Clyde sounded. He walked back over to his case, looking towards Lucia. "What's the plan?" He asked. Lucia motioned for them to join her at the table and the rest stood. When they had all gathered around the table she explained to them the Soul Harvester and his Staff, his death, the staff, excluding the part about attaching a shadow, and then regretfully, about the deaths of the previous owners of the Nome; then finally it's theft. She then let Ethan explain what he found.

"So, the plan is to search all over Long Island, search for any clues that Nut gave me, but by sunset we must be at the Twelfth Nome, or their mirage fades and we won't be able to enter until 8 am the next morning. Understood?" They all nodded. "How are we getting there?" Asked Cole. Lucia looked towards Helen and she nodded. "Follow me." She led them outside to the main gate, Helen focused and summoned the Hieroglyph for "KEY" the large doors slowly opened, blinding white light shining through. "Whoa!" Cried Cole. "What are you orders while you are gone?" Asked Helen. "Keep everyone training and start patrols and routine check ups, formation delta." Helen nodded and said, "very well, madam. Good luck." Lucia turned to the group. "Alright, our mission officially starts now. Let's go." They walked through the portal together and appeared at the American Museum of Natural History in the Mummies exhibit. Thankfully no one was around, they made their way out of the museum and set foot in the grand megacity that is New York. They took a second to look around downtown Manhattan, the heart of America. "Let's get moving." Ethan reminded them. They consulted Ethan's map before beginning, sight seeing a little. It only took them an hour to reach Long Island Sound. They then wandered around searching for anything of magical importance, they found traces here and there, especially in a neighborhood pound, the trail ran all over the place, but two stood out more than the others. One went towards Brooklyn and the other up more in Long Island. "Should we investigate?"

Lucia looked at both trails. "The trail is fading fast, it's been here a while… We need to investigate both before it goes cold." Ethan immediately shook his head. "We can't-" Lucia drew her dagger and tossed into the dirt. "Ethan, I know. I'm not making an uninformed decision. The possible information outweighs the risk as the Nome is in danger as we speak. If we can settle this matter, we're in a much better position to help Carter with Apophis. And I know we're more vulnerable split up, but we're not going to do this stupidly. We'll split up 3-2; Ethan and me will take the more dangerous route, further up Long Island, you three will take the route back into town towards the Brooklyn House. If you sense _any_ type of danger, go _straight_ there. If you return here before us, wait here or leave us directions. If you are in danger upon returning here, slash," Lucia bent down and sliced a 6 inch line in the hard dirt with the dagger she had tossed into it, "this line, and when we return we'll know the situation. And vice versa. Everyone understand?" Everyone nodded. "Okay," Lucia pulled out her map, "the trail leads from here into town, mortals are around so monsters will be less likely to attack. Beware of dark corners, secluded spots and alleys. Keep track of nearby monuments in case you need an emergency portal. Clyde, you are in charge of this mission," Clyde nodded. "Rules, don't take fights unless you are forced to, always remain on the defensive, monsters fight dirty. And, most importantly," Lucia walked over to Cole, who gulped as she crouched to look him in the eyes. "STAY IN FORMATION." She said loud and clearly. "Listen to Clyde, follow his orders, not a SINGLE foot out of line, it could mean the death or injury of you or Clyde and India. You don't want that, do you." Cole gulped, shaken, but shook his head. She hoped she wasn't _too_ harsh there. However, she needed to drill it into his head, a formation is essential when it comes to survival. Lucia has survived certain situations only because she was in formation. She always stressed it as much as she can, whenever she can, always making sure everyone knew how important it was; she only told her Egyptian Special Op story to extreme cases.

She was set out, with a group of 3 other initiates to claim a relic in Antarctica, and bring it back to the First Nome. It was an artifact recently discovered had been pending retrieval because they had wanted to use it for this purpose. On the boat ride to Antarctica, Lucia made sure to get to know who she was dealing with and asked them all many questions as to what they believed in, what their specialties were, etc. She wanted to be sure what to expect from them in the field, she began the discussion about a plan and course of action; giving suggestions as to the formation in the cold climate. From that point on, the others listened to her with only questions and suggestions from here and there. Lucia hadn't planned it this way, but if she was in charge, she believed she could get it done cleanly. She couldn't have been more wrong. Lucia was only 14 at this time, she had completed her magician training at the First Nome and Nut had personally nominated her to the Egyptian Secret Ops, ESO for short. Lucia was determined not to let Nut down, at that point in time, only Nut mattered. They were met with heavy resistance before they even docked. Twenty miles off the coast, a large sea creature breached the surface, tilting the ship, then tail whipped the water; a 30 foot wave carried the ship all the way to shore, disabling their way home. Luckily, the all survived without a scratch, they failed to rescue the rest of the crew who were mostly mortal. They were disheartened, but Lucia pulled them together and told them they will figure out a way home after they find the relic. After a grueling trip in the arctic, monsters everywhere, freezing, lost supplies in the crash; upon sight of the relic, a rusty old shield, two of the members ran forward to grab it as they were being chased. Lucia tried to stop them, as she knew to stay in formation. A two headed snake, waiting for them, swallowed the two faster than Lucia could blink. The last remaining initiate, Leonardo Drake, was a battle mage wielding two swords, staying in formation as best as he could with only Lucia left. They slew the snake and made it back to the shore by the time a rescue ship arrived with the relic, curious as to why the others hadn't made it back; they barely escaped with their lives and sanity. Lucia doesn't like to recall this, as it was very traumatizing at the time and as it was the first and only time she had ever doubted Nut.

"Return as soon as the trail runs cold, okay? And even if the trail continues, return here at least an hour before sundown." Lucia pulled out her pocket watch. "It's 3:30 now, be back here by 6-6:30. Understand? Don't want to sleep in the wilderness, do we?" Everyone collectively shook their heads. "Move out." They headed in different directions. "Are you sure they will be okay?" Asked Ethan, and Lucia nodded. "They have to be. Clyde is leading them, he grew up here, he knows these streets better than I do." Ethan was silent for a dozen steps before saying, "Alright, the trail leads towards a fast food restaurant near the coast, we'll head there and look for clues." Their investigation turned up nothing, other that the two, whose magical trail they were following, were stationary here for some time - obviously eating - before moving on. "Alright," Lucia said as they were leaving. "The trail splits again, the one heads back towards the Brooklyn House and the other… East and slightly North. Let's go." They wandered, following the trail that seemed to expand as if what ever made it were as wide as the Atlantic itself; the trail expanded indefinitely as they walked down a road with white picket fences on either side and farmland as far as the eye could see. They paused after wandering around for 30 minutes, Lucia checked her pocket watch, it was 5:20, they had little under an hour to finish up their search or abandon it. Ethan unfolded the old map he had found in the library carefully and she pulled out the one she had bought herself. They compared the two and cross-referenced landmarks and streets. "I'd say…" Ethan began, looked back and forth between the two, then placed his finger on her map, "we're here, in the middle of the farmland. I think we should head for the valley here," he dragged his finger through the route they'd take to their destination, a hill with a pine tree at the crown. "I did some digging and many have said a lot of disturbances, _unexplainable_ disturbances occurred near this location frequently. I believe that means-" "Magic." Lucia finished and he nodded. Lucia studied the map for a little while longer, something didn't add up to her. "Wait," she pointed at a spot just north of the valley in Long Island Sound, "Isn't this where the Twelfth Nome is supposed to be?" Ethan looked at his old map. "Yeah. And it's within the red circle. Coincidence?"

Lucia shrugged, she wasn't so sure about a coincidence, but she had no other information to base any other assumptions on. All she knew for sure was, they'd find out when they got there. They got moving, the humidity was unbearable, Lucia took off her leather jacket and tied the sleeves around her waist and tied up her hair. As she was tying up her hair as they walked, she glanced over at Ethan, who was staring at her, he quickly looked away. She smirked, but kept it to herself. They reached the bottom of the hill, Lucia stared up at the large pine tree at the crown, just as Ethan had described. Shimmering heat behind the tree, locusts louder than ever, Lucia felt close to a breakthrough. She felt like a whole other world rested on the other side. She just had to get over the hill. She slowly began walking forward as if her destination called to her, she was halfway up, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. She went to take another step when Ethan's phone went off, who was still at the bottom of the hill. He fished out his phone and answered. "Hello, Clyde?" Lucia allowed those over eighteen the use of phones, as phones broadcasted a magician's _ba_ or lifeforce, all over the area; they were too dangerous for initiates or youngsters. She wanted everyone to at least make it safely to eighteen; which is why she herself did not carry a smartphone. "W-Wait, slow down, hold up, where are you?" He was silent as he listened, "that's nearby, go north, towards Long Island Sound, run along the beaches, me and Lucia are on our way." He hung up, "Lucia!" Ethan called and she looked back at him. "They are being chased by weird snake women, they had been chased since they got to town, we need to go help them!" Lucia ran that in her head, _snake women._ Again. She went to take a step, then looked back up at the pine tree. She was so close to just peering over the crown, she knew this was what Nut had wanted her to discover. She knew Nut wanted Lucia desperately to reach here. But where was here? Did it have anything to do with her new ability? Did it have anything to do with the snake women constantly chasing her? All of the answers lay just over the hill, a dozen, maybe more, maybe less, steps, and she'd know for sure. Everything would make sense, she almost motioned to run up the hill, but before she knew it she and Ethan were running back the way they came. She glanced back as she was running. _Maybe some other time…_ She said to herself feeling like she had abandoned a part of herself on the hill.


End file.
